Abstract
Clusters of PCs are traditionally programmed using the message passing paradigm as this is directly supported by their loosely coupled architecture. Shared memory programming is mostly neglected although it is commonly seen as the easier and more intuitive way of parallel programming. Based on the user-level remote memory capabilities of the Scalable Coherent Interface, this paper presents the concept of the SCI Virtual Memory which allows a cluster-wide virtual memory abstraction. This SCI Virtual Memory offers a flexible basis for a large variety of shared memory programming models which will be demonstrated in this paper based on an SPMD model.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
C. Amza, A. Cox, S. Dwarkadas, P. Keleher, H. Lu, R. Rajamony, W. Yu, and W. Zwaenepoel. TreadMarks: Shared Memory Computing on Networks of Workstations. IEEE Computer, February 1995.
Dolphin Interconnect Solutions, AS. PCI-SCI Cluster Adapter Specification, May 1996. Version 1.2.
D. B. Gustavson and Q. Li. Local-Area MultiProcessor: the Scalable Coherent Interface. In S. F. Lundstrom, editor, Defining the Global Information Infrastructure: Infrastructure, Systems, and Services, pages 131–160. SPIE Press, 1994.
M. Ibel, K. Schauser, C. Scheiman, and M. Weis. Implementing Active Messages and Split-C for SCI Clusters and Some Architectural Implications. In Sixth International Workshop on SCI-based Low-cost/High-performance Computing, September 1996.
M. Ibel, K. Schauser, C. Scheiman, and M. Weis. High-Performance Cluster Computing Using SCI. In Hot Interconnects V, August 1997.
A. Itzkovitz, A. Schuster, and L. Shalev. Millipede: a User-Level NT-Based Distributed Shared Memory System with Thread Migration and Dynamic Run-Time Optimization of Memory References. In Proceedings of the 1st USENIX Windows NT Workshop, August 1997.
P. Keleher. Lazy Release Consistency for Distributed Shared Memory. PhD thesis, Rice University, January, 1995.
P. Koch, E. Cecchet, and X. de Pina. Global Management of Coherent Shared Memory on an SCI Cluster. In Proceedings of SCI-Europe ’98, a conference stream of EMMSEC ’98, pages 51–57, September 1998.
F. Müller. A Library Implementation of POSIX Threads under UNIX. In Proceedings of USENIX, pages 29–42, January 1993.
F. Müller. Distributed Shared-Memory Threads: DSM-Threads, Description of Work in Progress. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Run-Time Systems for Parallel Programming, pages 31–40, April 1997.
S. Paas, M. Dormanns, T. Bemmerl, K. Scholtyssik, and S. Lankes. Computing on a Cluster of PCs: Project Overview and Early Experiences. In W. Rehm, editor, Tagungsband zum 1. Workshop Cluster Computing, number CSR-97-05 in Chemnitzer Informatik-Berichte, pages 217–229, November 1997.
S. Pakin, V. Karamcheti, and A. Chien. Fast Messages (FM): Efficient, Portable Communication for Workstation Clusters and Massively-Parallel Processors. IEEE Concurrency, 1997.
S. J. Ryan, S. Gjessing, and M. Liaaen. Cluster Communication using a PCI to SCI Interface. In IASTED 8th International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing and Systems, Chicago, Illinois, October 1996.
IEEE Computer Society. IEEE Std 1596–1992: IEEE Standard for Scalable Coherent Interface. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 345 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017, USA, August 1993.
E. Speight and J. Bennett. Brazos: A Third Generation DSM System. In Proceedings of the 1st USENIX Windows NT Workshop, August 1997.
Technical Committee on Operating Systems and Application Environments of the IEEE. Portable Operating Systems Interface (POSIX)—Part 1: System Application Interface (API), chapter including 1003.1c: Amendment 2: Threads Extension [C Language]. IEEE, 1995 edition, 1996. ANSI/IEEE Std. 1003.1.
T. von Eicken, D. Culler, S. Goldstein, and K. Schauser. Active Messages: a Mechanism for Integrated Communication and Computation. In Proc. of the 19th Int’l Symposium on Computer Architecture, Gold Coast, Australia, May 1992.
S. Woo, M. Ohara, E. Torrie, J. Singh, and A. Gupta. The SPLASH-2 Programs: Characterization and Methodological Considerations. In Proceedings of the 22nd International Symposium on Computer Architecture, pages 24–36, June 1995.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1999 Springer-Verlag
About this paper
Cite this paper
Schulz, M. (1999). SCI-VM: A flexible base for transparent shared memory programming models on clusters of PCs. In: Rolim, J., et al. Parallel and Distributed Processing. IPPS 1999. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1586. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0097885
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0097885
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-65831-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48932-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive